On 7 December 2016 the EU Commission announced it will not revise the Directives but develop an action plan to improve their implementation. This is a big win for nature and everyone who was supporting Nature Alert campaign.

Now we need to make sure that in 2017 the European Commission and our national governments decide on strong actions to ensure effective protection on the ground and to tackle harmful activities like unsustainable agriculture and energy developments.

The laws at the heart of Europe’s nature conservation – the Birds and Habitats Directives – are vital if we want to stop the loss of nature and build a sustainable future for us and our children.

Thanks to these laws, endangered species like the Iberian Lynx, the wolf and the brown bear are reappearing in our landscapes again.

But now this progress is under threat because politicians could weaken the laws that protect these places and species. We need to tell them to maintain these strong laws in order to keep nature.

Nature doesn’t have any boundaries – protected wildlife habitats or migrating birds are often found across national borders. This is why having common European nature protection makes sense. Europe has the largest network of protected areas in the world – Natura 2000 – a patch work of unique wildlife and habitats that covers 18% of Europe’s land and 4% of its marine area.Natura 2000 is the place where people and nature can live and prosper together. This is a forward-thinking way of doing nature conservation, and if properly managed it allows man to live in harmony with nature.

• Nature contributes to our health and well-being• Nature is the ideal space for recreation where we can feel truly alive• It provides us free clean water and air, and fertile soils for our food• We can do millions of jobs related to nature

The awe-inspiring view from the top of a mountain. A walk in silent woods. An unexpected encounter with a wild animal.

These are the moments that make us feel truly alive. Moments when we realize how lucky we are to live in a country that has places where people and nature can still thrive together. Today more and more of us are able to experience moments like these – because nature is living and starting to thrive again, in pockets of protected land across Europe. But now this progress is under threat because the laws that protect these places could be weakened.